Two Contractors Sentenced in Atlanta Bribery Probe

Elvin “E.R.” Mitchell Jr., an Atlanta contractor and the federal government witness who paid more than $1 million in bribes to get City of Atlanta contracts, was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday for his role in the massive bribery scandal.

Charles P. Richards Jr. a friend and business partner of Mitchell’s, was sentenced on Tuesday to 27 months for his admitted roles in the pay-for-play contracts scandal.

Mitchell was charged in January with conspiring to pay more than $1 million in bribes to a person with the knowledge some of the money would go to one or more individuals with influence over city contracts. Richards was charged the following month and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, admitting to paying at least $185,000 in exchange for contracts.

The city’s former chief procurement officer, Adam L. Smith, pleaded guilty last month to conspiratorial bribery and is set to be sentenced in January. Prosecutors say Smith accepted bribes over an approximate two-year period of time to give contracts to an unnamed vendor.